Local Sikh speaks out about Wisconsin shootings - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Local Sikh speaks out about Wisconsin shootings

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There is a small Sikh community here in Toledo. The religion was founded in India in the 15th century. Today there are about 25 million Sikhs around the world,making it the fifth largest religion.

The man we spoke with hopes people will take time to learn about his religion, which is based on things like a love for God, as well as equality and justice.

Amanjeev Singh has lived here in the Toledo area for 14 years. He says news of the shooting at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin traveled quickly, "Of course these are people belonging to my religion, my community so there is a sense of belonging there. I was not outraged, I was not angry , I was very sad."

The word Sikh means disciple or student. People sometimes mistake it for an off shoot sect of Islam or Hinduism, but Sikhism is a completely separate religion with its own scriptures. Singh says the shooting goes against everything his religion teaches. The pillars of Sikhism include equality between men and women, hard work and kindness for the needy, "We have respect for everyone and justice for everyone. In fact, there are examples in history where we have actually fought for the rights of others."

The temple shooting comes just weeks after the mass shooting at the movie theater in Colorado Singh says something has to change," Is there something wrong with the social fabric of our nation? Is there something we need to teach our children differently? I do not want to get into the whole gun control debate, but something has to be done."

Singh hopes some good can come out of the tragedy, "If there is a silver lining I hope that people will learn more about us, and more generally I hope that people have more of a respect for minorities because we are as much American as anybody else in this country."

Singh says there are 30-40 Sikh families in the Toledo area. They don't have an actual temple here, but a priest from Detroit comes to town once a month. Many of the Sikhs in our area travel to Detroit area temples for services.

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